We are just back from two weeks of old fart adventures in Southern Chile (Patagonia) with our SLC buddies Jerry & Angie, and my old climbing & rafting friend Mark.

Most of our visit was to Jim & Angela Donini's cabin on the 2nd largest lake in South America. Our climbing legend friend Jim, was unable to visit Patagonia this year due to climbing & slide-show commitments, but his wonderful wife Angela, was our able hostess and tour-guide.

Sunset on Lago General Carrera and the Northern Icecap of Patagonian Chile. The peak at center right with the long ridgeline is the highest in Patagonia: San Valentin, 13,350 Ft. (our lake's altitude is nearly sea-level---718 Ft.)

Follow the red arrow. We flew Santiago to Coihaique (Coyhaique), then drove south to Lago General Carrera.

Credit: Fritz

After flying into a regional airport BBA and renting our truck, we drove 30 miles north on good road to Coyhaique, the region's big city (100,000 people) and shopping hub, for our first night in Chile at Donini's favorite place for lodging.

Patagonia House is a B & B, was a little difficult to find, but is very modern, clean, and has English-speaking staff, which is somewhat rare in Patagonian Chile. Best of all: was finding a new friend in the manager Ruth.

Ruth is our hero, since Delta Airlines had failed to forward luggage for my wife Heidi & me to Chile. After days of hounding Delta customer service, Ruth finally got our missing bags to Coyhaique and put them on a bus to our rural location. She also loaned Heidi hiking boots and clothing to supplement the gear we had worn on the plane and had in our carry-on luggage.

We simply can't image any other hotel manager in the world doing so much for us. Ruth also has a well-established Patagonian tour company, is a Chilean native and speaks excellent English: Her company is: Salvaje Corazon (wild at heart)! They can do trips for: Fly fishing - hiking - camping - Photo Safaris and bird watching as well as logistics. Web site is : http://salvajecorazon.com/pages/01_welcome.html

After a morning grocery shopping excursion, we managed a mid-afternoon departure from Coyhaique, and had a rainy drive south, with our full size-Toyota Diesel pickup (Hilux), on paved roads for about 60 miles, then we had 110 miles of, at times narrow & challenging, gravel roads.

Jerry was our driver of choice and did a great job of keeping the shiny side up.

We finally arrived at the Donini's cabin near dark with Angela waiting at the hard to find front gate.

Our vacation really starts after 3 days of travel to get to our destination!

We then celebrated "cheating-death" on the drive! Photo by Angela at the Donini-Bivouac-cabin. Fritz, Mark, Heidi, Jerry, & Angie.

Credit: Fritz

We did see two roll-over accidents that had happened minutes before, during our driving in Patagonia. The numerous road-side shrines prove that the gravel roads can be fatal to the fast and incautious.

Credit: Fritz

Day 4: The six of us including Angela went for a hike above their property to a stream with a very long series of waterfalls, always with a view of the lake.

Our wonderful host & friend Angela, doing a little "bouldering" at the waterfalls, with Lago General Carrera in the background.

Credit: Fritz

Fritz & Heidi at an "infinity pool" above the lake.

Credit: Fritz

There were cows upstream, so we filtered our water. Jerry & Fritz "making water = drinking water" with the Katadyn Hiker Pro. (4th day for me in the same travel-clothes. Thank God for deodorant!)

Credit: Fritz

Another 10 days of scenery & adventure to follow----and the suspense builds!

Will Fritz & Heidi ever see their checked bags again? Or are our bags doing a separate Chile vacation----running up big hotel bills and sharing our precious gear with pimps and loose women?

Glad you folks are enjoying our adventures and photos! Here's some more.

Day 5: The six of us piled into two pickups (Angela has a 4-WD version of our rental Hilux) and headed south to the outlet of Lago General Carrera which passes through a couple smaller lakes and then forms the largest river in Chile: the huge, and noted for trout-fishing & whitewater thrills, Rio Baker.

We drove down stream some miles, parked and hiked into a series of scenic falls on the river, for a lunch break.

Angela took this great panorama of the falls, with the very muddy Rio Nef joining the Rio Baker at center-left.

Credit: Fritz

Although there are white-water river outfitters on the Rio Baker, none of us could imagine rafting and surviving the falls. However, Kokatat's blog site recently had a link to expert kayakers having the trip of a lifetime on the same falls and downstream canyons of the Rio Baker. Our falls are apparently called "Double-Drop," although I think they deserve a grander name. Here's a link to the story and video:

After our hike, we drove further down Rio Baker then turned up the Rio Chacabuco and headed east for more miles. We toured Doug Tompkins & Kris McDivitt Tomkins' ranch which is the base for another of their Patagonia Parks. It is a beautiful desert valley full of guanacos, with swans, and flamingos in the wet spots.

Doug & Kris have been buying up property for 20 years in Patagonia and making reserves, preserves and parks out of them, protecting them from development. Eventually, they will all be donated to the Chilean Parks System.

Guanacos & Pink Flamingos!

Credit: Fritz

Credit: Fritz

Lunch stop up the Rio Chacabuco.

Credit: Fritz

After a lunch break we went back up the Rio Baker, fished without success on the river, then tried a small lake, which was full of hungry 4"-8" rainbows. We put all the baby fish back and returned to the Donini Bivy for the evening views.

Day 6: Another road trip, this time east along the south edge of the lake for about 100 km to the larger town of Chile Chico which is next to the border with Argentina. We drove south up the Rio Jeinemeni (heny-meny) for several more km to a fishing spot. Jerry & I fished with little success where Donini (El-Jim by then) had caught a huge trout, while the rest of the group explored the desert environment.

This road trip is mostly on good gravel, but it had some very scenic road sections of steep bumpy gravel road with 1000’ drops into the lake & obvious large & frequent rockfall from above. Jerry (Mario) drove the "guy-truck", while Mark and I whined at him to go slower on the one-lane blind-curves above the huge drop-offs. We won’t be going there again----soon.

The road around Lago General Carrera to Chile Chico. Don't drive this in the rain!

Credit: Fritz

Desert scenery up the Rio Jeinemeni. Of course El-Jim & Angela have climbed the steep side of the volcanic plug at center right.

Credit: Fritz

Day 7: Local hike above the nearby waterfalls.

After a slow start to the day, we decided to skip a road-trip and hike around the Donini Bivy.

Chilling on the deck at the bivy, due to un-settled weather. Angela, Angie, Heidi, Fritz, & Mark.

Credit: Fritz

All our gourmet meals were at the Donini cabin and Jerry & I were under pressure from the group to produce a "trout-dinner." We caught an adequate mess of small rainbows and browns out a scenic nearby stream, that we shared with cows. It was a lot like fishing in South Idaho mountains and the fresh trout were a tasty treat.

Day 8: This was the best scenery day with a road trip around the west end of Lago General Carrea , then northwest into the Rio Exploradores Valley, full of coastal rain forest, waterfalls off the ice cap all around, spectacular views of hanging glaciers, rivers running grey with glacial debris, and alluring mountains that would be tough to approach, let alone climb.

Two misty peaks in the icefield, from a lakeside view. Both are Donini 1st ascents. Note the wild roses in the foreground. Patagonian roses have mutated into a long-thorned people-ripping menace.

Credit: Fritz

Cemetery, Patagonia style.

Credit: Fritz

One of many scenic mountains during our drive down the Rio Exploradores.

Credit: Fritz

one of hundreds of waterfalls.

Credit: Fritz

Fuchsias were blooming everywhere.

Credit: Fritz

After much spectacular scenery we parked for a hike up to the terminal moraine for Mt. San Valentin's huge glacier. We did have to pay an entry fee to walk up a board-walk (that protects the soft soil of the rain-forest) to a scenic overlook. We packed our lunch up there, and enjoyed the great views, while feasting on the somewhat precarious moraine top.

San Valentine glacier terminus, with Mt. San Valentine at upper right.

Credit: Fritz

North Ridge of Mt. San Valentin the highest mountain in Patagonia at 13,500 Ft. Alas, the top was hiding in clouds.

Credit: Fritz

More waterfalls, mountains, and the very out of control, Rio Exploradores.

Credit: Fritz

Credit: Fritz

Credit: Fritz

The rain forest jungle was a little tough to travel in. Angela called a stop at a waterfall on the way back up the Rio Exploradores, and we explored the jungle up to the base of a nearby waterfall. It would be "very-interesting" to drag a heavy climbing pack up through it to the peaks.

Jerry, Angie, Heidi, & Fritz in the jungle. Angela photo.

Credit: Fritz

Mark had a little "jungle-incident" on the way out, and covered himself with mud. It's Ok, we are friends.

Fritz & Mark cleaning off the mud. It's OK man: I got your back!

Credit: Fritz

A final look up at Mt. San Valentin----almost cloud-free, with the churning mass of the river born from its glaciers in the foreground.

Credit: Fritz

Oh! A future project for El-Jim. A roadside photo of a little pinnacle alongside the Rio Exploradores.

Credit: Fritz

Much more to follow--- Our exciting climb to the summit of Mt. Fossil Ridge, the Marble Caves of Lago General Carrera, the race back to Coyhaique, and Santiago urban adventures!